Vegan Treats at BabyCakes NYC

When one thinks of cupcakes, eggs, milk, and sugar usually figure into the list of ingredients. But BabyCakes NYC, a vegan bakery on the Lower East Side, defies the standards and you won't know the difference. Seriously.

When I approach BabyCakes, the bright interior stands out on a city block pockmarked with dim, swanky bars and shadowed, crumbling tenement buildings.

Inside the air is warm and sweet, and everything from the walls to the bakers’ outfits is a light, pastel pink. It feels like walking into a Hollywood baby nursery, with signed photos of Chevy Chase and the Golden Girls adorning the space. At first glance, BabyCakes looks like any other bakery in New York: tiny – with only seven chairs - and quirky, exuding a pleasant, sugary atmosphere.

But a glance at the menu reveals the hidden treat: all of its pastries are free of dairy, eggs, refined sugar, soy, and most are also free of gluten. And they are delicious.

“I always had a hunch everyone who knew me thought I was crazy when I announced I was quitting my job in fashion to open a bakery,” says Erin McKenna, owner of BabyCakes, on the bakery’s blog.

McKenna opened BabyCakes in 2005 to satisfy her own sweet tooth. “She was inspired to open the bakery because of her own dietary restrictions,” says Emily Woesthoff, general manager of BabyCakes NYC. “An intolerance to wheat, dairy and sugar left her on an endless quest for really delicious desserts.”

When McKenna couldn’t find suitable treats at other bakeries, she decided to bake her own. After a year of experiments, using ingredients such as agave nectar syrup (to replace refined sugar), garbanzo beans (instead of wheat flour) and coconut oil (known for heart benefits), McKenna opened BabyCakes and started selling her creations.

Since then, BabyCakes has received glowing reviews from The New York Times and Vanity Fair, and has celebrity fans including Martha Stewart and Natalie Portman. This vegan treat-seller attracts a young crowd, but also older generations who want to eat their sweets in a healthier way.

The bakery is unique in making vegan goodies – including cookies, cupcakes, breads, and even donuts - that don’t taste vegan, or like they are missing ingredients. I ate two red velvet cupcakes, one gluten-free, made with garbanzo beans, and one made with spelt (wheat). One cupcake is $3.95, with breads (such as banana and pumpkin spice) at $5 a slice, and cookies $1.50 each.

The gluten-free one was creamier and smoother than its counterpart, which was grainy and a bit more “healthy-tasting.” However both were unbelievably delicious. If I had gotten these in a blind test I would never have guessed they were dairy-free and sugar-free. The frosting was rich, sweet, and had a great cream cheese flavor that red velvet is famous for. The cupcakes themselves had the right amount of crumble and stickiness.

In May, Babycakes came out with a cookbook called “Babycakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York’s Most Talked-about Bakery”, bringing non-New Yorkers access to this wealth of unconventional treats.

The bakery is also opening another outpost in Los Angeles, where veganism, like in New York, is a growing trend.


A very special cupcake